Associate Professor of Law Jenny Breen spoke with WHAM-TV on recent Supreme Court of the United States decisions, including Watson v. Republican National Committee (Election Law) and Trump v. Cook and Trump v. Slaughter (independent agencies.) Breen’s interview starts at 2:24 of the segment.
Referring to Watson v. Republican National Committee, Breen said: “The way the court decided this particular issue is by looking at a statute that governs mail-in ballots and holding that that statute does not specify that the ballots do not have to be in by Election Day.”
In comparing the two independent agencies cases, Breen commented, “What the Supreme Court held in the FTC case was that Trump could fire Rebecca Slaughter for no reason at all. They got rid of for-cause removal for that particular agency, but for the Federal Reserve they kept intact for-cause removal. Lisa Cook could still be fired, but Trump would need to follow procedures and give her notice and an opportunity to respond.”
Distinguished Professor of Law Nina Kohn has co-authored an article with Naomi Cahn, Professor of Law at the University of Virginia, titled “Why Many Older Americans are Losing Ground Even with an 80‑year‑old President,” published in The Conversation.
The elder law experts examine recent federal legislation affecting older Americans, including Social Security cuts and the rescinding of long-term care regulations, in light of the fact that many elected officials are themselves elderly.
The authors argue that “those policies show why, more than ever, it is wrong to assume that rich and powerful older people will protect all older adults, including those who aren’t wealthy.”
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit cited a Syracuse Law Review article written by Professor of Law Roy Gutterman L’00 in the case Satanic Temple, Inc. v. Newsweek Digit. LLC, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 15175, 2026 LX 295417, __ F.4th __, 2026 WL 1502095 (United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. 2026).
The citation: Roy S. Gutterman, New York: The Media and Media Law Capital, 75 Syracuse L. Rev. 765, 765-69 (2025) detailing the history of New York as “the media capital of the world,” and noting that “The Associate Press, the world’s largest news service, has its global headquarters in New York City and countless magazines and their parent companies are based in New York”.
Crandall Melvin Professor of Law Shubha Ghosh spoke with Bloomberg Law about a possible appeal by Elon Musk following the jury verdict in the Elon Musk v. Sam Altman trial. The jury found that the statute of limitations had expired before Musk filed the suit and did not address the merits of Musk’s claims.
“We haven’t reached those substantive issues yet,” said Ghosh. “And it’s not quite clear whether we ever will get to see them.”
Crandall Melvin Professor of Law Shubha Ghosh discussed with the Wall Street Journal the possible outcome of an appeal by Elon Musk in the lawsuit against OpenAI and co-founder Sam Altman.
At the trial, the jury sided with OpenAI, agreeing that the statute of limitations had passed and Musk knew about the actions that OpenAI and Altman had taken to create a for-profit entity well before he filed this lawsuit in 2024.
“It’s a very rare circumstance that those can be appealed because it’s usually a clear rule,” he said. “What the jury found is that he took too long.”
Joins a network of 37 leaders serving our nation’s veterans
Seth M. Owens, attorney at the College of Law’s Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic, has been named to participate in the 2026 Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program. Stand-To targets dynamic leaders, including civilians, veterans, and active military members, from various sectors nationwide who are dedicated to supporting our nation’s veterans and their families.
The 37 scholars hail from across the country and will gather at the George W. Bush Presidential Center next month for the opening session. Over the course of the five modules, scholars will hear from a variety of distinguished professionals, educators, and experts in veteran transition and leadership development, including Major General Jeannie M. Leavitt; and Alex Gorsky, U.S. Army veteran, April and Jay Graham Fellow at the George W. Bush Institute, and former Chairman and CEO of Johnson and Johnson; among others.
Seth M. Owens, J.D., D.P.T., is an attorney and advocacy fellow with the Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic at the Syracuse University College of Law, where he focuses on veterans health and disability law, federal appellate litigation, and legal services for veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness. A former physical therapist and healthcare manager, Owens brings a multidisciplinary approach to veterans advocacy that integrates legal, medical, and policy perspectives. His scholarship centers on veterans’ access to benefits and the systemic barriers faced by former service members with less-than-honorable discharges, including published and forthcoming work in the Syracuse Law Review. Owens has also co-authored amicus briefs before the United States Supreme Court and regularly contributes to national conversations on veterans law, discharge characterization, and access to care.
“I am so incredibly honored to be selected for this cohort of the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, and have the opportunity to bring back lessons learned to the College of Law and the community of veterans we serve,” Owens says.
Each participant brings a personal leadership project to the program, enabling them to immediately apply what they learn to making a positive impact on veterans and military families across the United States.
During the five-month program, Seth will develop his initiative focused on correlating improvement in well-being and housing status for homeless veterans with the delivery of legal services focused on accessing U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits and services. He hopes to show that the delivery of these legal services can be a primary intervention to combat homelessness in the veteran population—an intervention that could be adopted on a much larger scale by the VA.
Scholars were carefully chosen following a comprehensive application and review process. They become part of a dynamic network comprising over 250 alumni from seven earlier classes, focused on enhancing veteran outcomes across a range of issues. Many alumni occupy leadership positions in business, community initiatives, nonprofits that aid veterans, government, and academia; numerous members are also active or reserve military personnel.
The George W. Bush Institute is a solution-oriented nonpartisan policy organization focused on ensuring opportunity for all, strengthening democracy, and advancing free societies. Housed within the George W. Bush Presidential Center, the Bush Institute is rooted in compassionate conservative values and committed to creating positive, meaningful, and lasting change at home and abroad. We utilize our unique platform and convening power to advance solutions to national and global issues of the day. Learn more at www.bushcenter.org.
Professor of Law Paula Johnson contributed the opinion article “Supreme Court’s voting rights decision silences Black voters” to Syracuse.com in response to the recent Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v. Callais.
In the article, Johnson provides a historical review of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, its impact on the civil rights of Black voters, and how the ruling will affect minority voting going forward.
She concludes that, “while it is not fully extinguished, this democratic promise is now dimming under the Supreme Court’s latest ruling on the VRA. This is one of the most consequential decisions by the modern Supreme Court, for as Ashley Shelton, founder and CEO of the Power Coalition, a Louisiana statewide civic engagement organization, asks, ‘What is citizenship without representation?’ This is a question, a calling and a challenge, not just for Black voters, but for everyone who genuinely believes in the right of fair representation in a democratic society. We must vote like our democracy depends on it, because it does.”
Crandall Melvin Professor of Law Shubha Ghosh spoke with the Associated Press about the trial where Elon Musk is seeking the removal of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
Ghosh said he has doubts about Altman staying on as CEO of OpenAI in the long run. “A lot of this might depend upon a testimony,” he said. “And I don’t know what he’s going to say or how he’s gonna say it. But even like the best case, movie theater type performance, with all the music playing and the angels descending or whatnot, I don’t see him coming off as a fairly strong leader, especially [since] this case has gone this far.”
Professor of Law Emeritus William C. Banks spoke with the Wall Street Journal about the White House ballroom construction and national security issues surrounding the project. One issue is the amount of information being disclosed about the construction in ongoing litigation.
Banks said one open question was whether the administration was divulging actual operational plans or instead searching for a winning legal justification for the construction.
“If it’s accurate, I think it borders on irresponsible,” he said.
Banks was the Founding Director of the Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism (INSCT), now the Syracuse University Institute for Security Policy and Law (SPL). Under Banks’ leadership, INSCT/SPL grew from its inception in 2003 to become a recognized leader in interdisciplinary research and education on national and international security and terrorism.
Dean Terence Lau L’98 spoke with Axios on the repayment of tariffs to businesses and the potential risks for companies pursuing refunds.
“You don’t want to hold a press conference when you do it, but I think as a company you have to file,” says Lau. “If you are owed billions of dollars from the federal government and you don’t get it back, you’re going to have a derivative shareholder lawsuit on your hands so fast it’ll make your head spin.”
